Robert Henri | Edna Smith in a Japanese Wrap, 1915

Robert Henri🎨 (born June 25, 1865, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.- died July 12, 1929, New York, New York), urban realist painter, a leader of The Eight and the Ashcan School and one of the most influential teachers of art in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century.

Henri🎨 studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, from 1884-1888, and at both the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Upon returning to the United States in 1892, he became an instructor at the School of Design for Women in Philadelphia.

His vigorous ideas attracted a group of young illustrators from the Philadelphia press: John Sloan, Everett Shinn, George Luks, and William J. Glackens.

From 1898-1900 he was again in Paris and exhibited at the Salon.

He then settled in New York City, where he taught at the New York School of Art and organized numerous exhibitions that featured urban realist scenes.

Although elected in 1906 to the National Academy of Design, Henri🎨 became enraged when, the following year, the works of his realist colleagues were rejected.

In 1908 he joined forces with seven other artists (including Sloan, Shinn, Luks, and Glackens) - dubbed “The Eight” - and mounted a single, joint exhibition before being absorbed into the larger Ashcan School. Henri also exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show.

During an extremely active life as an artist, Henri🎨 exercised considerable influence as a portrait painter. A painting such as Himself (1913) reveals his facile brushwork, lively palette, and ability to catch fleeting gestures and expressions.

He also wielded influence as a teacher.

From 1915-1928 Henri taught at the Art Students League in New York.

During this period he was instrumental in turning young American painters away from academic eclecticism toward an acceptance of the rich, real life of the modern city as the proper subject of art.

Henri’s book, The Art Spirit (1923), embodying his conception of art as an expression of love for life, continues to be popular among artists and art students. | © Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc

Robert Henri, nome d'arte di Robert Henry Cozad, è stato un pittore Statunitense🎨.

Fu una figura guida dell'Ashcan School del realismo americano e fondò il gruppo detto "Gli otto", per protestare conto i criteri conservatori e discriminatori della National Academy of Design.

Nascita: 24 giugno 1865, Cincinnati, Ohio, Stati Uniti.

Decesso: 12 luglio 1929, New York, New York, Stati Uniti.

Periodi: Arte moderna, Realismo americano, Ashcan School, Realismo.

Istruzione: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Académie Julian.

"Cosa c’entra tutto questo col colore? C’entra […] serve a fare in modo che non rimanga rinchiuso dentro di te per sempre dibattendosi per uscire. Di qualsiasi genere di colore si tratti, non uscirà davvero, se tu non fai la tua parte per aiutarlo a emergere davvero".

"L'arte non si può separare dalla vita. È l'espressione della più grande necessità della quale la vita è capace, e apprezziamo l'arte non tanto per il prodotto specializzato, ma per la sua rivelazione di un'esperienza di vita".

Robert Henri, dal libro "The Art Spirit"

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